This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a device for sorting coins, the diameter and thickness of which are within predefined size ranges, containing a storage container for unsorted coins, containing at least one coin conveying unit having two parallel, jointly driven, endlessly circulating pulling means, wherein an upper run of the pulling means, that conveys the coins upwards from the storage container and is oriented such that it raises in a conveying direction, forms part of the wall of the storage container, with a sliding bar extended in the conveying direction for supporting the coins during conveying, wherein the sliding bar is arranged between the pulling means in the region of the upper run, and with coin receptacles for the conveyed coins, wherein the coin receptacles have driver pins provided on the pulling means and assigned to one another in pairs, which project beyond the sliding bar by an extent exceeding the predefined greatest coin thickness, containing a coin separating unit for separating the coins conveyed from the storage container in the coin receptacles, with a shearing device for coins lying axially above one another in the coin receptacles, wherein the sliding bar, as a shearing device, has a run-on ramp, the height of which is less than the projection of the driver pins beyond the sliding bar and greater than the difference between the projection of the driver pins and the smallest predefined coin thickness, and with a return device for coins lying radially above one another in the coin receptacles, wherein the return device has a signal generator for detecting an extension of the coins in the conveying direction and a returner arranged downstream of the signal generator for returning the coins from the coin receptacle into the storage container, containing a coin recognition unit arranged downstream of the coin separating unit, as seen in the conveying direction, for identifying different types of coins by means of at least one characteristic feature of the separated coins, and containing a discharge unit for the separated coins interacting with the coin recognition unit and being arranged downstream of the coin recognition unit, as seen in the conveying direction.
2. Discussion
The invention further relates to a method for sorting coins provided in an unsorted manner in a storage container, wherein the coins are conveyed out of the storage container by means of a coin conveying unit, wherein the coins are separated by means of a coin separating unit in such a manner that, in the coin receptacles of the coin conveying unit receiving the coins when conveyed, only one coin is provided respectively, and wherein a characteristic feature of the coins is detected in a coin recognition unit for identifying different types of coins.
A device of this type is known from EP 1 450 314 B1. The device is used for separating coins and is in particular applied in coin receiving machines. For example, after business opening hours, business people may use a self-service receiving machine for filling in unsorted coins into a funnel-shaped storage container. The entered coins are separated upon reception, identified with regard to their value and are counted. The overall amount of the coins may subsequently for example be credited to a business account of the user. After having been counted, the entered coins are stored in an unsorted manner in a single collection container, wherein in the collection container, coins from different users are stored jointly. Foreign currency coins and non-accepted means of payment such as buttons are sorted out and returned to the user. The collection container is for example emptied on a daily basis. After emptying the container, the coins collected in the collecting container are again separated and sorted. This can for example be carried out manually in the branch bank or in an automated manner in a central bank. Even though such receiving machines provided with the device for separating coins principally have proved their worth, it is desirable to simplify the return of the coins, which have been entered into the receiving machine, into the cash flow.